Lovesick
by Bay City Kitty
Summary: Unrequited love is bad for you, or so she's been told. But Regan has had a thing for Kai since she realised what a boy was. Regan is sure that if she can just crack his shell, she can win his heart. She just needs to find a pick-axe big enough.(KaixOC) (R
1. Welcome home, brother dearest

Okay, so there are a couple of things to look out for.

First off, I don't know Tyson's Grandfather's name, so I just kind of… improvised…

Second, I made up Tala's parent's names as well. Basically, any names I didn't know, I either didn't include them or renamed them. Sorry if that bothers anyone but sometimes it's just like that. By the by, I know it puts the whole Anime world into total melt-down, but this is my fic and I'll do it my way. Kai and Tala were never at Biovault. They had nothing to do with Biovault except that their parents are scientists. They have lived relatively normal lives with their respective families, although, yes, Kai does hate his parents for dumping him on his grandfather for fourteen years.

DISCLAIMERS: I don't own BeyBlade mutters bitterly or any of the characters except my own original ones.

WARNINGS: Okay, contains bad language, one references to drug abuse, alcoholism, maybe some possible sex later on, BUT YOU JUST CAN'T TELL WITH THESE THINGS. I promise, if there is going to be sex in a scene, I will put a warning at the top of the page. If you choose to ignore it, then it's your own damn fault.

Phew, okay. On with the story.

* * *

Chapter One.

Welcome home, brother dearest.

Regan sighed as a burst of laughter carried across from the house to where she was sat. So inconsiderate. If they were going to enjoy themselves without her, they could at least have the common courtesy to do so quietly. Not that it mattered, of course. She couldn't think of anything she'd rather do less than smile sweetly as forty-something business associates leered down her shirt and her mother drank herself under the table.

There were better things she had to do with her time than trudge through Wuthering Heights, too, but it was at her mother's request that she familiarize herself with Brontë, so obviously she had to do it.

A warm breeze licked at her skin, tossing her loose blonde curls and ruffling the material of her dress. Bloody dress. Like anyone was going to see it anyway. Her mother had been so excited about Tala coming home that she had decided to take Regan shopping for this evening's party. They'd traipsed round all of Moscow before the perfect dress was finally found. Pink silk, in an antique shop. A twenties flapper style dress. Regan sighed. The shine in her mother's eyes as she had handed over the crisp notes, watching the dress gently lowered into a bag and handed over like a newborn in delicate hands. Only for her father to go berserk when he saw the price tag. Her mother's face. Oh, the pain in her face as he'd told her how stupid she was, the suspicious bulge under her cardigan as yet another bottle of whisky disappeared from the drawing room.

Another burst of laughter floated over the lawn to her. Regan sighed irritably and slipped her bookmark between the pages. Standing up, she brushed herself down and flicked her hair over her shoulders. If they thought she was sitting around all evening at a distance so that she could be watched but ignored, then they had another thing coming.

Clasping her book in both hands, she made her way slowly across the grass, watching as a peahen made her stately way across the manicured park. Such extravagance. Her father would take any opportunity to show off. The sound of the stream grew louder as she strolled down the hill toward the border between this house and the next one over. She could have carried on going, but a sudden voice behind her made her pause.

"Hello, stranger."

Regan turned slightly, her grasp around the book tightening. Framed against the back drop of the huge old manor house and the blood red sunset, her brother struck out like a knife through cloud, casting a dark shadow over the grass, his dyed red hair bright and offensive to the eye.

"Tala."

"How you been, sis?" he asked quietly, taking a step towards her. Regan moved away slightly, keeping the space between them.

"Fine," she replied, her voice steady and flat. Lifeless.

Tala sighed and shook his head.

"Look, I know you're mad-"

Regan laughed bitterly.

"Mad? Oh no, Tala, I've never been happier. I've had a wonderful time, watching our mother drink herself slowly into a coma, holding the 'family'-" she spat the word. "- together whilst you're off gallivanting around the world with your glorified pissing spinning tops."

Tala gazed at the floor, scuffed his shoes against the grass and dug his pockets into his dark suit pants, his pearly white shirt blowing in the wind. Gucci, probably cost a fortune. And he probably got away with it, too. He probably even liked it.

"I had no idea."

"Yeah well now you do. Welcome home, mummy's boy. Now _you_ can deal with them and give _me_ a break," Regan said coldly before brushing past him, their shoulders bumping for the merest of seconds.

"Regan, please," he reached out and took her arm.

"Don't touch me!" She snarled. Tala snatched away his hand as if she had burnt him.

"Regan-"

"Just leave me alone," she whispered, then turned and walked back up to the house.

* * *

"Darling, this is fun isn't it?"

_No, it's not fun. Fun would be slitting my wrists and jumping into a pit of man eating snakes. Fun would be getting out of this nut-house. _Regan sighed and looked up at her mother, saw the hope in her eyes, the flour on her cheeks and in her hair and couldn't bear to hurt her. She smiled.

"Yeah, fun."

Alexandra's face lit up and she turned back to her cake mixture, stirring vigorously with her wooden spoon.

"I just thought it would be nice if we did this for your father. He works so hard, and it's not every day that you're fifty, is it?"

Somehow, Regan doubted that her father wanted to be reminded of this, but she didn't say it. Instead, she continued to ice the top tier of the cake. It was the same recipe that her grandmother had used for her parents wedding cake, just twenty years ago. Tragic really.

"I don't know, fifty. Where does the time go?" Alexandra sighed and paused in her stirring, spoon poised over the bowl, reminiscing. "It seems like only yesterday that you and Tala were sitting on your daddy's knees. You were so cute." Alexandra sighed and started stirring again.

Regan was silent. Those were the days when she and her brother were close. They shared their toys, their whole lives revolved around each other. Her big brother was her best friend. They weren't exactly enemies now, they just didn't always see eye to eye. Not that Tala was ever around to see eye to eye with.

"What happened to you two?" Alexandra asked. Regan shrugged.

"Puberty."

There was a silence as Alexandra contemplated this, then suddenly she frowned.

"What is that_ smell_?" She asked.

"Shit! Mum the cake!"

Alexandra gasped and ran to the oven, yanked open the door and choked as black smoke billowed out at her. She reached in a gloved hand and pulled out the cake. Her shoulders sagged.

"It's not too bad," Regan encouraged.

"It's ruined."

"No, it's only the edges, look. We can cut those bits off and-"

"I'm so useless," Alexandra choked and her shoulders began to shake. "I can't do anything. It's all ruined." She slammed the cake tin down onto the countertop and ran from the kitchen, wailing loudly. Regan sighed in frustration and turned back to icing her cake. A moment later, Tala came into the kitchen and leaned in the doorway, arms folded.

"What?" Regan snapped, feeling his scrutiny burning a hole in her back.

"What did you do to mum?"

"I didn't do anything to her. She did it to herself."

Tala sighed and looked over at the burned cake sitting forlorn and abandoned in its tin. He nodded in understanding. Regan growled and flung down the icing bag. A thin trail of gluey white squelched out onto the counter top.

"This is ridiculous, dad doesn't even _like _marzipancake! And I most _certainly_ don't like marzipan and neither do you." She picked the whole thing up and threw it in the bin, disgusted. Then she took a cook book off the shelf and began flicking through the glossy pages.

"How does… a… chocolate layer cake with real strawberries sound?" She asked, turning to her brother.

"Tame."

"And a splash of finest Russian vodka?"

Tala grinned.

"Sounds like fun. As long as you don't feed any to mum."

Regan gave him a chastised look.

"I can't believe you'd actually suggest a thing like that. How poorly you must think of me."

Regan smiled as she lay the recipe book down on the counter top and began cracking eggs into the mixing bowl. Tala sidled over and began weighing out flour.

"So who exactly is coming tonight?" He asked, tipping the flour into the bowl with the eggs. Regan shrugged.

"People."

"Liiiiike…?"

Regan paused and began checking them off on her fingers.

"The Kholers, the Mortimers, Uncle Otto and family, some of dad's work friends. Oh, and the Hiwatari's."

Tala looked up.

"Kai too?"

Regan shrugged.

"Probably. I suppose she'll have invited him along to keep you company, seeing as I'll have darling Victoria to talk to." Regan shuddered and pretended to ring her most hated cousin's neck. Tala laughed.

"Well, if it all gets too much, I'll be on stand-by with alcohol. _Lots_, of alcohol."

Regan shrugged.

"Sure." There was a delicate pause as they worked. Regan smiled. It was the first time in quite a while that they had gotten along, and after last night, it was quite a surprise that he was still on speaking terms with her, never mind cake-baking terms.

The cake didn't take long, and as they were clearing up the kitchen and delicately arranging strawberry halves around the edge of the cake, Alexandra came down. She sat on one of the stools, swaying slightly and smelling of whisky, but both teenagers ignored this and treated her as if everything was normal.

At quarter to five, Alexandra disappeared upstairs to get ready. Regan went up to her own room and opened her wardrobe, flicking idly through her clothes. A suit? No, too old. Party dress? Yuck, _definitely_ not. Finally, after much deliberation and a shower, she settled on a low cut purple cocktail dress that her grandmother had bought her for her birthday. Might as well get some use out of it. Besides, her father would hate it, and that was totally worth seeing.

She brushed her hair back, the soft, loose curls falling over her shoulders, and splashed on some perfume. Then she took one of the lilies from the arrangement in the hallway and snipped off most of the stalk, pinned back her hair and slipped the lily into the knot of the grips, hiding them. Already, she could hear the sounds of people chatting, her mother's high, clear voice like a bell. She sounded sloshed already. Regan sighed and took one last look in the mirror before slipping on her shoes and heading down to the party.

With any luck, she would be able to escape onto the terrace at the first chance and spend the rest of the evening just hanging around by herself, out of sight and well out of mind. This was not so.

Her mother spotted her immediately and dragged her over to where her Uncle Otto was stood talking to her father. He leered at her over his sherry as she stood and gave the obligatory update on the last two years since she'd seen him, before escaping, only to be cornered by one of her fathers colleagues, who grilled her for a full forty minutes about whether she was considering university. Finally, gasping for air and dying of boredom, she broke away from the drawing room and wandered out of the open French doors onto the terrace. The fading sunlight cast shadows over her, and she shivered slightly.

"Regan!"

Regan whirled round and spotted Tala's red head poking over some bushes. He grinned and waved her over. Regan glanced into the drawing room, then smiled and crossed the terrace and vaulted over the low wall into the shrubbery.

"You bastard, you left me for dead in there," she hissed. Tala grinned as a voice behind her spoke.

"Yeah but we just know your dear uncle Otto would have been so disappointed if we'd spirited you away without letting him see you first."

Regan whirled around and came face to face with Kai. He was sat on the cool earth, leaning back against the wall, hands behind his head, wearing dark jeans and a pale blue shirt, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Her stomach gave a nervous flip and for a moment, she felt ill. Regan took a deep breath and put on a lethargic face.

"Well look what the cat dragged in. Where you been, Hiwatari." Her voice was flat, bored.

"It's good to see you too," he deadpanned. "How you doing?"

"Slowly losing the will to live. I hope you smuggled something alcoholic out," she replied sitting down opposite him.

"Taa-daa," Tala said, pulling out a bottle of vodka. Regan smiled slightly.

"What a saint he is," she said sarcastically. " Right, lets get intoxicated."

Kai gave a bark of laughter, one shot sharp burst, and took the bottle, unscrewing the cap and taking a swig.

"So," Regan asked. "How was the World Championships?"

"You mean you didn't watch it?"

"No, I was too busy getting stoned. Of course I watched it."

Kai grinned.

"I can't believe you won! Tyson was really good, don't you think?" Regan mentally kicked herself for her excited outburst.

Tala shrugged.

"He was okay, I guess." Regan thumped him and he laughed. "No, seriously though, we couldn't have done it without him."

"I hate to admit it, but he's a pretty okay guy," Kai added, handing the bottle to Regan. She took a few short sips and shuddered.

"Eugh, this stuff is _poison_. Where the hell did it come from?"

"Mum's private stash."

"Figures. She'll drink anything."

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the party, occasionally finding a subject to chat about. All the time, Regan's stomach was churning. It had never really bothered her before, he had just been her brother's best friend. But now… It was different now. He was strong and silent, yet so easy with her, like they were friends, confidants. There was something about him. He was so detached, but he was never rude or nasty, at least not to her anyway, but she hadn't seen him since last summer, except on a television screen. He was different, he had changed.

The sun was almost completely gone now, making it about nine o'clock, at a guess. Regan sighed and shifted on the cool earth. She was beginning to see stars, whether it was from the vodka or something else. She grumbled curses under her breath and stood up, brushing herself down and removing a leaf from her hair.

"Leaving so soon?" Tala asked lightly. Regan pulled a face at him.

"That stuff is gonna kill me. I'm going up."

"Light weight," Tala muttered. Kai rolled his eyes.

"You're crazy to carry on drinking that stuff," he warned. He and Regan had abandoned the vile clear liquid hours ago, but Tala had continued to drink it.

"Ah, you're both wusses," he slurred. He turned to Kai. "This place is killing me. Lets go clubbing."

Regan rolled her eyes and hopped over the wall. Trust Tala to decide to go clubbing now. Ah well, it was his arse on the line when their father found him passed out in his own vomit in the Jaguar, which was a guarantee.

Kai looked from her to Tala then shrugged.

"Whatever."

"Come on then, before Miss Priss here sends us to bed with a mug of hot milk each."

Regan showed him the finger and turned back to the party. Behind her, she heard the bushes rustling as the two teenagers struggled through the tangle of twigs. Regan sighed and watched them skulk around the side of the house and out onto the gravel drive. Perhaps she could slip up to bed unnoticed. As usual.

* * *

Reveiws welcome, flames laughed at, friendly criticism and tips loved muchly. Thank you. 


	2. Feed a hangover, starve the flu

Chapter Two.

Feed a hangover, starve the flu.

The alarm clock trilled happily, vibrating across the bedside table, its little black hands jabbing at the midday mark. Kai groaned and rolled over, slamming his hand down on the table. He missed the clocked, but thumped the wood hard enough that the whole table tipped over with a loud crash. His brain shrieked at him to stop making noise, and finally, the clock went silent, having rung for the obligatory minute.

Sitting up slowly, Kai vowed to never, _ever_, drink again. He swore there was a steamroller moving slowly over his brain. He needed a shower. Then he might go over and hurt Tala for making him get so drunk.

Kai staggered to his feet and stumbled into the bathroom, peeled off his tee-shirt and boxer shorts and got into the shower. Water ran down his shoulders and over his face. His head still pounded, but that was nothing a little bit of breakfast at that nice little café in town wouldn't fix. Feed a hangover, starve the flu... Or was it the other way around? _I don't care_._ I just want breakfast_.

Drying himself off, Kai selected his usual dark jeans and black tee-shirt, then pulled on his jacket and trudged out of his room. In the ground floor living room, he could hear his parents arguing about something in the newspaper. Kai slipped as quietly as he could down the corridor and grabbed his keys, then slipped out of the front door and into the Jaguar. God, he hated that car. The seats were too squashy, and the dashboard was just so tacky, covered in all his fathers high tech little gizmos. His Ferrari back in Japan, now _that_ was a car to be seen in.

It was a five minute drive at break neck speed up the little country lane to Tala's house. The huge iron gates, flanked by even bigger stone columns, were wide open as usual, the little intercom system blinking furiously. Kai drove past and watched the camera turn its beady little sensors on him. Behind the two way glass, Kai gave it the finger and roared off up the long drive.

Parking the car, Kai got out and locked it, grinding his teeth as it made its annoying little chirruping noise. Swinging the keys round his finger, he meandered round to the side of the manor and wandered in through the kitchen door. Regan looked up from the table and smiled, her hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing old khaki cut-offs and a white tank-top.

"Morning," she murmured, slipping out of her chair and flipping the switch on the kettle.

"Huhn," Kai grunted, flopping down in a chair and rubbing his head. "Tala up yet?"

Regan snorted derisively and gave him a flat look.

"What do you think? Nobody's up. The parents had far too much wine, and I don't know what the hell Tala drank, but whatever it was most certainly didn't like him."

"Sick?"

"As a dog. I reckon he got in about six this morning and went straight up to bed, then got up at eleven to throw up and submerged again."

Kai rolled his eyes and winced as the toaster popped up with a grating snap. Regan fished the toast out and began lathering on butter. She popped it on a plate and placed it on the table in front of him, then poured hot water into a cup of coffee granules and slowly stirred them.

"Sugar and milk?" She asked.

"Neither, thanks," he said taking a bite out of his toast. She nodded and made up his coffee, put the mug down in front of him, then flipped her magazine shut and sat back in her chair. They sat in silence for a while as Kai chomped through his toast. Finishing his last mouthful, he brushed the crumbs off his fingers and picked up his steaming mug.

"So, you all ready for your nine month holiday in Japan?" He asked, taking a sip of coffee. Regan smiled and fiddled with the corner of her magazine.

"I'm going there to study the art, you cheeky bastard" She said, stubbing at the nose of the girl on the front of the magazine. "Besides, it means I miss the first school term."

"Oh absolutely."

"And anyway, it's about time you got someone in that dojo who can actually cook," she added breezily.

Kai laughed. Despite the fact that there were two perfectly capable girls in the dojo, neither Mariah nor Hilary could cook. Neither could clean either, and the boys most certainly weren't donning aprons and dusters just for the sake of it. That was what maid services were for.

"Hey, we manage fine thank you very much."

Regan snorted.

"Oh, pur-lease. You couldn't cook tinned beans with an adult present, my dear. And Tala… well… I don't even want to _think_ about the kind of damage he could do with a kitchen full of sharp things." She smiled and raised her eyebrows.

Kai smiled and stood up. He took his cup and plate over to the dishwasher and slid them in, slamming the door shut with a heavy clunk, and strolled back over to the table and sat down.

"I've got to warn you though, Lei is nasty. And Bryan takes some getting used to-"

"Yes, Kai sweetie, I know Bryan's a bitch, I've met him, but I'm sure I can hold my own. It's sharing a bathroom with Tala that I'm worried about."

Kai grinned, and checked his watch, surprised to see that it was already past one, and stood up.

"Right, well thanks for breakfast, but I really better had go and start packing again, but in the mean time, get your lazy shite of a brother up and tell him that if he isn't up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, my folks aren't going to drive him to the airport. That goes for you too, _devushka_."

Regan rolled her eyes and muttered darkly in Russian.

"Bloody hell, remind me why exactly I'm going with you two?"

"Because, Ivanhov, the alternative is Finishing School. And I know you don't want that."

* * *

Again, reviews welcome, flames ridiculed.


	3. Bed and board for the price of sweat

Chapter Three.

Bed and board for the price of sweat.

"For the last time, Mariah, it's not them!"

Mariah gave Rei a dirty look and peaked out of the window.

"I heard a car-"

"I thought you were a cat, Mariah, not a friggin' mutt," Lei said irritably, not taking his eyes off the board. " You wanna chase cars, go outside and do it 'cos you're really distracting me."

"Don't blame me just because Rei's frying you at checkers," she snapped, wandering back over and flopping down next to the tiger. Rei clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, then picked up his little checker and jumped all five of Lei's remaining game pieces.

"Check!"

"Oh, _what_?"

Rei grinned and sat back, stretching.

"Face it mate, you will _never_ beat me at checkers. I'm just too good."

Lei grumbled something and got to his feet. He gave a cry of pain and began hopping up and down and swearing in Chinese.

"Pinsandneedlespinsandneedles! Owowowowow!"

Mariah laughed, then paused to listen. She jumped up and ran to the window again. This time she shrieked and jumped up and down.

"They're here!"

Rei frowned and checked the wall clock.

"It can't be them. Their plane wasn't due to land until five."

"Who else do we know who drives a Ferrari?"

Rei got up and wandered out to the front of the dojo. The driver door opened and an unfamiliar girl clambered out, a cell phone glued to her ear.

"Yes mum, we got here fine… We're at the dojo now- yes… yes… no… We ate when we stopped in Cairo. No, look, mum-yes I know. Mum-"

"Well if it isn't my three favourite people," Tala said sarcastically as he clambered out of the front passenger door. "How you doing, Hairballs?" He greeted them loudly, as Kai got out of the car and went round to the boot to help the girl unload their bags.

"Hey, Kai," Lei jibed. "How come you let some girl drive your car but you wont even let me sit in it?"

"Because 'some girl' can actually drive, Lei," Kai said, giving the Asian boy a flat look. "And because I needed to catch up on my beauty sleep"

Lei muttered something under his breath and gave Kai a dirty look, then turned his attention back to checking out the girl as she leant into the boot of the car to get her bags. Rei rolled his eyes and gave his friend a sharp poke in the ribs.

"Don't even think about it," he warned. Lei grinned.

"No idea what you're talking about," he replied wickedly.

"Yes mum, I've got plenty of money to last me until the account gets changed to yen. Okay… Okay, mum, this is costing me an absolute fortune, I- Tala?" The red-haired boy looked up and shook his head furiously. The girl nodded. "No mum, sorry, he's really busy. Look, this call is costing me a fortune. I'll call you sometime in the week, okay? Okay. Bye."

The girl snapped her phone shut and groaned.

"Bloody hell. We've been gone five minutes and she's already pleading with us to come home soon."

Tala shook his head and sighed, then turned to the three neko-jinn stood in the doorway.

"Where's everybody else?" He asked.

Rei ticked them off on his fingers.

"Kevin disappeared about an hour ago, Gary and Max went to the arcade, Bryan, Rick and Spencer _were_ supposed to be her, but I think they went to the gym, Hilary's out shopping and Tyson is…" He paused and shrugged. "Somewhere in the dojo with Dotu."

Tala nodded, then took the girl by the arm and dragged her forwards.

"Okay, well. Guys, this is my sister, Regan. Regan, this is Mariah, Rei and Lei."

Regan smiled and stepped forwards, shaking hands with all three of them.

"It's nice to finally put faces to the names," she said.

"Nice to meet you too," Lei grinned, wiggling his eyebrows at her. This time, Mariah thumped him and gave him a warning look.

There was a lot of difficulty, getting everything out of the car and into the dojo. Regan had brought quite a lot of books with her, and the box they were all in collapsed on her feet halfway to her room. She hopped around swearing colourfully in Russian for a while, before composing herself, and picking them all up.

The room she was sharing with Mariah was light and airy, with two neatly made up beds and a wardrobe and chest of drawers between them. There was a set of twin screen doors that led out into a very quiet area of garden next to the koi pond and a wooden sun-lounger was folded up against the wall.

She murmured something in quiet Russian as she wandered around the room. Rei raised an eyebrow at Tala, who grinned and shook his head.

"She speaks in Russian when she's feeling nasty. She only does it to annoy me."

"Huh?"

"Because, once she does it, I invariably end up doing it."

"Oh, _devushka_," she cooed, pinching her brother's cheek. "You should be proud of your mother tongue."

Tala grimaced.

"Yeah like hell," he sighed and wandered off down the hall to the room that he shared with Kai. Mariah turned to the silver haired Russian.

"What did she say about my room?" She demanded.

Kai grinned.

"Don't worry_, devushka, _she said the floorboards are squeaky, .

Mariah rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air.

"Doesn't anyone here speak plain old English?" She cried in exasperation, before stalking out of the room. Rei gave Kai an 'honestly' look and followed her. Kai sighed and shook his head. Well, this was going to be an interesting few months.

* * *

Regan fitted in well at the dojo. And considering that she wasn't paying to stay there, she did an awful lot to make up for it. She cooked, cleaned, and provided a mild source of entertainment every time Tala got on her nerves, which was a lot. In the first three weeks, they had nine fights,six verbal,three physical. Lei, Spencer and Bryan began running wagers on every fight. After three wins in a row, Regan's odds were up to 2/1, whereas Tala's had gone all the way down to 10/1. It was pathetic really.

"Perhaps Tala is a _real _gentleman and doesn't hit girls," Mariah snapped halfway through the second fist fight. Moment later, she was force fed a meal of her own words when Tala's fist connected with Regan's stomach and he winded her. Spencer was beginning to get seriously concerned for the health of his wallet. If Tala kept losing like this, he'd be bankrupt before Christmas. But Tala invariably came off worse for wear with a black eye, a nose bleed and a bruised ego, no matter how much he made Regan scream. He was making Lei and Bryan incredibly rich.

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Regan was fun though. She wasn't afraid of a little bit of hard work, and she was never afraid to stand up to anyone. But she was sensitive as well, and she would sit down and listen to any problems. Tala was constantly pointing out her faults. Which was how they got into fights.

Dotu had a very important job for Regan, however. After her third week was well and truly out of the way, Dotu covered the living room with dust sheets and instructed her to get creative. She locked the door for three hours and did God-knows-what, then rushed off in Kai's car -much to Kai's annoyance- and came back and hour later laden with tubs of paint, one in every colour of the rainbow. Then she went in and locked the door again.

"Dotu!"

The old man looked up from his game of checkers with Lei. Regan poked her head around the kitchen door and smiled.

"Okay, I've got my design all drawn up, but I want to make sure you like it first, okay? I'm not painting it if you're going to hate it."

The old man sighed and got slowly to his feet, then followed her out of the kitchen and down the hall. Curious, the others followed them in a long crocodile line, Max bringing up the rear.

"_Voila_!" Regan cried throwing back the screen door and stepping inside the room to let Dotu past. The old man looked around in stunned silence, and suddenly, tears welled up in his eyes.

"Wow," Tyson murmured, taking it in. Regan had painted the walls completely white, then drawn a light charcoall design over the whole thing. A beautiful scene covered all four walls. It wasn't anything complicated or fancy, just a simple mural of the Japanese countryside. But it was enough to make old Dotu emotional, which obviously counted for something. Regan smiled.

"So, do I go ahead and paint it?" She queried.

"D'you even need to ask?" Max said with a grin. "You've knocked poor Dotu for six. Someone get the guy a cool cloth before he faints."

Dotu smiled and nodded.

"It's perfect," he said quietly, then turned and walked off down the corridor.

"Nice one," Tyson said with a wink. And that was that.

* * *

If you've read this far, thank you. Reviews welcome, flames laughed at.


	4. Tweaking

Chapter Four.

Tweaking.

"Hold perfectly still."

Mariah stiffened, not even daring to breath, as Regan slowly wound a section of her hair carefully around her curling tongs. Heat radiated from the little appliance, so close to her ear she could hear it humming slightly. Mariah closed her eyes and smiled, relishing at being pampered for once.

"So, what's all this for?"

Mariah felt herself flush slightly, and was grateful that she was facing away from Regan.

"Nothing."

"Do not even _tell_ me that I've spent the last hour curling your hair for absolutely no reason," she chided playfully. " Spill."

"It's nothing," Mariah insisted, her face hot with embarrassment.

"Liar."

"Ow!" Mariah winced as Regan tugged on the tongs slightly, yanking her scalp.

"Sorry," she murmured. Slowly, she took the pressure off the tongs and unravelled them from Mariah's hair. She flipped the curl over her shoulder and sat back, rearranging herself more comfortably and taking up another lock of pinkish-red hair.

"You promise not to tell anyone?" She asked. Regan gasped in delight and dropped the lock of hair. Mariah shuffled around to face the Russian, feeling the flush creeping up her neck again.

"Promise. What, you honestly think I'd tell someone?"

Mariah felt bad. Of course she wouldn't tell anyone. She was Regan.

"I know but… I can't. I… I promised Rei I wouldn't say anything."

"He asked you out?" She gasped excitedly.

Mariah's jaw dropped.

"_What_?" She shrieked. "You _knew_?"

Regan blushed and fiddled with the cord of the curlers.

"Um, lucky guess?" She said quickly.

"Regan Ivanhov, you _knew_! How the _hell _did you _know_?"

"Ah… well… I _may _have done a little bit of… shall we say… tweaking."

Mariah looked at her friend in astonishment.

"Tweaking? What the fuck do you mean, _tweaking_?"

"I didn't do anything, honestly! I didn't tell Rei anything he didn't know. Actually, I didn't tell Rei anything at all." She smiled sweetly, but her face was flushed.

"Oh my God… Who did you tell."

"…No one…"

"Who?"

Silence.

"Regan, who did you tell?"

"Lei."

"_Regan_!"

"What?" She cried. "He knew anyway."

"How the hell could he possibly know?" Mariah cried.

"Oh, come on," Regan exclaimed, exasperated. "He's been your friend since God knows when. I'm sure he'd know the signs that you're madly in love with his best mate."

Mariah groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Look, we were playing cards and I mentioned how much chemistry there was between you and Rei, and Lei said it was stupid that you hadn't already got together. And so I said we should get Rei to ask you out on a date and then Lei just went all mysterious and told me to leave it to him and kookookatchoo, Rei's asked you out!"

Regan took a breath and looked pleadingly at her friend.

"That's the honest truth." She said.

Mariah nodded slowly.

"Anyone else know?" She asked.

"Amazingly, no," Regan replied.

"Why 'amazingly'?"

"Because it must be pretty fucking obvious that you like Rei if even Lei can figure it out."

Mariah smiled.

"Be nice," she chided.

Regan became pensive, lost in a world of her own. Mariah sighed and got up, flicking her curls over her shoulder and wandering over to the mirror perched on the dressing table. It was amazing how quickly Regan had become her friend. They spent quite a lot of time together, and Mariah knew practically everything about Regan and her family. She was so different to her brother. Tala was lazy and could veg out in front of the television for hours. Regan had bags of energy and could barely sit still for five minutes without getting the fidgets.

She was kind and sweet and had a real sense of humour, but she had a short temper, and she and Tala were for ever fighting and getting on each other's nerves. She was a bit of a neat freak too. Not that Mariah minded though. It meant she never had to clean their room.

"So," Mariah jumped as Regan came out of her revere. The blonde girl patted the space in front of her and picked up the curling tongs, snapping the two planes together twice with a loud clack each time. Mariah wandered back over and sat down, crossing her legs and making herself comfortable.

"Sooooo…?" Mariah settled back against the side of the sofa as Regan began separating curls from straight bits.

"What are you going to wear?"

Mariah paused. She hadn't really thought about it until now, and it was becoming an increasingly worrying thought. Rei had seen all her clothes, and none of them were exactly what you'd call special.

"I… don't know," she admitted. "I guess I'll just wear something clean." Mariah suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed. _Something clean_? Where the hell had that come from. Practically everything was clean.

"D'you want to borrow something of mine?" Regan asked.

"Oh… Uh…" Mariah flushed. "I don't know. He's taking me to dinner. What if I spilt anything on it?"

"It doesn't matter. Just take whatever you want. It should all fit you, I'm not that fat."

"You're not fat at all," Mariah laughed. There was a pause before she spoke again. "Thanks though, I really appreciate all of this."

Regan smiled.

"That's what friends are for," she said quietly. Finally, she let the last curl free of the tongs and sat back. Mariah stood up and twirled around. Regan laughed, and switched off the curlers, shoving them in one of the wooden storage boxes in the bottom of the wardrobe.

"Gorgeous darling," she enthused.

"What are you two up to?"

Mariah turned to see Kai leaning in the doorway. Regan turned away in the pretence of searching for something, her face going slightly red. Mariah smiled at Kai and struck a pose.

"Special makeover," she said sweetly, walking over to Kai and tugging on his silvery bangs. "Hey Regan, do you think you could do something about this rat's nest?" She asked.

Kai gave her a flat look and tossed his head. Regan smiled slightly, but remained with her back to him. Mariah mouthed a silent 'okaaaaay' to herself and clapped her hands together.

"Right, well, places to go people to meet. I'll see you two later," she said, turning and wandering out of the room, making sure to close the screen door firmly behind her.

* * *

Same as usual. I'm going tosee if I can get all this up in one night. 


	5. The beginning of the end

Chapter Five.

The beginning of the end.

Regan silently cursed Mariah for leaving her alone with him. Oh God, she was seriously likely to embarrass herself now. Her face was on fire. She could see herself in the mirror, and him, leaning in the doorway, cool as a cucumber. Bastard. Why was she so nervous around him?

Clearing her throat and turning, still pretending to search for something, Regan ducked into the wardrobe and began rifling through clothes. Kai wandered over and sat down on the old sofa that had been dragged into her room from the living room.

Regan took a few deep breaths until she felt her face cool down, then smiled and turned around.

"So, what do we think?" Kai asked, his eyes fixed on hers. "Do I need a makeover?"

"Oh absolutely," Regan replied tartly. She stood just to the side of him and plucked at his hair. "This'll have to go for a start," she said playfully. Kai grinned and batted her hand away.

"You're all ganging up on me," he muttered. Regan laughed and flopped down on the other end of the sofa, pulling one knee up to her chest and leaving her other foot flat on the floor. The wind chimes that hung inside the outer screen door jangled softly in the late September breeze, filling the room with the warm glow of autumn. Kai closed his eyes and leaned back, his head tilting onto the back of the sofa. Regan watched him in silence, her eyes roving across his face, his arms, his whole body.

She sighed.

"Just think, in a few weeks time, Moscow will be under snow," she said quietly.

Kai made a low chuckling sound deep in his throat.

"Do you miss it?" She asked suddenly.

Kai opened one eye and looked at her.

"Miss what?"

"You know. Russia. White winters, pine forests, mulled wine."

"Ice skating on the fountain," Kai added mischievously.

Regan laughed.

"I remember that," she said with a smile. "God, I thought your dad was going to kill us when he found us."

Kai smiled.

"Yeah… I guess I do miss it. I'll tell you what I don't miss though," he said, turning to face her. Regan's heart gave a nervous clench as his cerise gaze fixed on her.

"What?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Always being alone," he said quietly, and suddenly stood up. Regan bit her lip and tried to stop the tears as he slouched out of the room, hands deep in pockets.

Why the hell had she brought up the subject of home? It was such a stupid thing to bring up. _Idiot,_ she cursed herself. Tala and Kai had always been like brothers. They spent half their lives together, and once, when she was very small, Regan had asked her mother why, if they were like brothers, they didn't spend time with her, as she must obviously be both their sister. Alexandra had laughed and told her that boys didn't like to play with their little sister's. It was too un-cool.

They would spend the whole of October and November knee deep in snowball fights, hot chocolate, and wet clothes, the wind in their hair and snow on their cheeks. Christmas was the only time of the year that Kai and Tala were separated. Every year without fail, Kai's parents would take him to stay with his grandparents in Minsk. Alexandra and Nicolas would always take Tala and Regan to stay in Arkhangal with their grandparents, or London to stay with Alexandra's sister. Either way, Kai would always spend Christmas in total isolation.

Tala hated going to stay with relatives as much as his friend, but Regan loved it. It was in Arkhangal that she learned to ice-skate, Nicolas holding her hands as he led her out onto the surface of the frozen lake, her horror at seeing the shadows of large fish swimming beneath her through two feet of ice, terrified that they would break through the ice and swallow her up, the shadows always bigger than the fish themselves.

_Daddy! Don't let go! _She had cried. But Nicolas had just laughed and continued to guide her over the ice, his laughter freezing in front of his face in the cold air. They were some of her best memories from her childhood. Those holidays were when she and Tala were closest. When he started going off BeyBlading, all around the world, Christmas just wasn't the same. You couldn't have a snowball fight with only one person.

* * *

Two days later, Regan and Kai had a blazing row and stopped talking to each other. Kai just ignored her and seemed to carry on as usual, but Regan sank down into herself and refused to come out. Nobody was really sure what the argument was about. It seemed to be caused by various small things that added up to one very big thing. Whatever it was, it cast a dark pall over the dojo.

Everybody noticed the sudden gloom that fell over Regan. She spent her whole time in the living room, painting. She barely got any sleep, insisting that she wanted to get the whole room painted by the end of the month.

"She's probably homesick," Max had said, as they watched her slowly push her food around her plate long after they had all finished eating. Rei wasn't so sure.

Her mother phoned religiously, every Friday evening to check up on her. Regan would sit for as long as her mother talked to her, face dark and brooding. She was becoming reclusive and drawn. Even Tala stopped bugging her for fear of what she might do if she got really upset.

But Rei had his suspicions about what had made her so sullen all of a sudden. One evening, after another supper of painfully awkward chat as Regan pushed food around her plate for twenty minutes, then threw it away and went back to her painting, Rei and Tala were left to clear up the table. Every so often, Tala would glance up from the sink and look at the living room door, before shaking his head and turning back to the dishes. Finally, after twenty minutes of nervous twitching, Rei threw down his dish towel and put his hands on his hips.

"Okay, you obviously know what's wrong with her, so why don't you tell me instead of just watching her mope?"

Tala looked up and shook his head.

"Believe me, if I knew, I would have sorted this out long ago. But she's just not talking."

"Well, what do you _think_ is wrong with her then?" Rei asked patiently.

Tala shrugged.

"Home sick?" He suggested.

"Believe me," Rei said. "I know home sick when I see it and that most definitely isn't home sick."

Tala was silent. Rei sighed.

"Look, you're her brother. Why don't you take her out, cheer her up."

"Oh, right yeah. Like that's gonna help," Tala snorted and went back to the noodle pan.

"You got any better ideas?" Rei asked, drying off the pan as Tala passed it to him.

The Russian shrugged.

"Nope. Look, all I know is that since last week she's been acting like a total recluse. Maybe Mariah said something to her?"

Rei shook his head.

"Mariah said she was fine when she was with her. And she was okay before that, because she was busy fixing me up with Mariah."

Tala grinned.

"That's Regan for you. Don't worry about her. She'll be fine in a few days."

Rei wasn't so sure though. Mariah was equally as worried. She and Rei had been on another two dates since then, and both times, Regan had shown little or no interest, a far cry from her mischievous excitement the first time. When Mariah tried to talk to her friend, Regan shrugged, muttered excuses and asked to drop the subject. After a million and one attempts to get her to open up, Mariah gave a cry of frustration and told her she was absolutely bloody impossible, before storming out and telling Kai that whatever he'd done, she hoped he was sorry. Kai! Rei didn't know what the hell had happened, but somehow, he had a feeling that Kai had something to do with it.

He cornered the silver haired Russian the next evening, slipping inside the room he shared with Tala and sitting down cross legged on the end of his bed. Kai glanced up from his book and took his headphones out.

"What's up, Furball?"

"Something's wrong with Regan, and it's got something to do with you," Rei said, holding Kai's stare. Kai shifted slightly and sat up a little bit straighter.

"Don't have a clue what you're going on about," he replied.

"Don't give me that shit," Rei sighed, his virtuous patience beginning to run out. "She's running on a low ebb, and I think you know why."

He hadn't come in here uninformed. He'd questioned Mariah extensively about the afternoon that she seemed to think was when it had all started. She told him everything, from the fact that Regan wouldn't look Kai in the eye, to the fact that she had cried through the whole night after they had the row. Rei suddenly felt incredibly angry on Regan's behalf.

"Look," he snapped. Kai gawped at him, surprised to see the mild mannered Asian looking anything but calm. "I like Regan. She's a nice girl and she doesn't deserve this-"

"Deserve what?" Kai asked coolly.

"The way you keep bloody ignoring her. You practically slammed the bathroom door in her face this morning and it's just not fair!" The last bit came out as a snarl, and the neko-jinn was surprised to find that he had balled his fists in anger. Kai looked slightly taken aback by his friend's anger.

"Well what the hell do you want me to do?" He snapped.

"Apologies," Rei spat back. "I know it's a physical impossibility for you to feel any kind of remorse, Kai, but you've been a complete arse lately, and it's really starting to get on my nerves."

Kai rolled his eyes and gave Rei a flat look.

"So what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Why don't you take her out for dinner by way of saying sorry? Maybe she'll be good enough to accept _that_ as a decent enough apology, because I imagine it's the best she's going to _get_ of _you_!" He shouted, before turning and stalking out of the room, swearing in Chinese and slamming the door across so hard that the whole wall shook.

Still sat on his bed, Kai rubbed his face wearily and shook his head. If this was how he could treat the people he loved, he'd hate to think how he treated the people he hated.

* * *

Reviews please. All criticisms loved very muchly. 


	6. Stupid little games

Chapter Six.

Stupid little games.

Regan sat by the pond, sullenly throwing petals onto the surface of the water and watching as the ripples expanded out across the clear glassy blue sheet. The garden was full of autumn now, the leaves having turned. It was a beautiful sight, the golden-browns and coppery-reds against the crisp blue sky. At any other time, she would probably have been tempted to set up her easel and paint it, but not today. Today, she'd rather just sit and observe.

There was the sound of footsteps behind her, and Regan half turned to see dark jeans clad legs rising like tree trunks behind her. She turned back to the pond and tossed the whole flower head in, staring at it as it sank under the surface, one of the koi darting over to inspect it, before darting away again.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Kai asked. There was an uncomfortable edge to his voice. Guilt maybe? Regan almost laughed. Yeah right.

"Whatever."

Kai sat down and leaned forward, knees up, hands clasped around the front of his legs. He looked down at the pond and sighed.

"Look, Regan. I know I've been pretty nasty lately-"

She cut him off with a derisive snort, rolling her eyes. Kai shifted slightly.

"Okay, I've been a total bastard. Look, what I'm trying to say is… I'm really sorry I said all that to you. It's just, when you were talking about home and… I just… I felt all the old feelings coming back and… I don't know."

Regan didn't speak. Her face remained clouded and dark. Kai ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I'm not trying to make excuses for myself, I just wanted to apologies. And, if you want to, I thought maybe I could take you out to dinner on Friday?"

Regan stood up and glared at him.

"You'll never learn, will you, Hiwatari?" She said wearily.

"Regan-"

"Forget it, Kai. Just fucking well forget it."

Kai growled and stood up.

"Regan, don't you dare walk away from me." He said angrily.

"Or what?" She snarled, turning on him. Kai felt his temper flaring.

"Listen, I came out here to apologies and try and make things better, but oh no. You'd much rather play the martyr and have everyone worry about you. Tell me, Regan, do you enjoy watching us all pussy-foot around you whilst you sulk?"

"Big words coming from such a stupid little _boy_," she spat back. "And considering that you spend most of your _own_ life wallowing in misery, you've got absolutely _nothing_ to be getting on my back for!"

"You know, I thought you were more mature than that, but I see you're just as childish and pathetic as you always were." He crowed. At this, any restraint that Regan had been maintaining evaporated completely.

"Listen, Hiwatari. If it weren't for _you_, my life would be a _hell_ of a lot easier. You've made my life a misery for the last sixteen years because it's the only way you could make yourself feel good. Well, there you go, you _bastard_. Have I bolstered up your stupid fucking _ego_ enough yet, _or would you like me to cry some more so you can be a big man and make me feel better_?"

She was screaming now, her whole face livid, eyes blazing dangerously in the sun light.

"Wait one minute-"

"No, _you_ wait one fucking minute. I am _sick_ of you waltzing _in_ and _out_ of my life, _stealing_ my brother away from me, treating me like I'm some kind of sub human and generally being a desolate _bastard_ and expecting me to drop everything and make you feel _loved_. Because that's all you ever _do_! You turn up and treat me like a sister for a day or two, then expect me to pay you back double. Well you can _forget _it, Kai, because I've bloody well _had_ it with you!"

Regan was breathing heavily, her feet planted apart, fists clenched. She leaned right up to him so that her face was less than inch from his.

"I'll let you in on a little secret shall I?" She whispered huskily. Kai glared at her, rage building up at the back of his throat. Regan leaned closer, so close that he could feel her ragged breath against his neck, her voice a tickling hiss in his ear, thick with fury.

"I have loved you, every minute of my life, since as long as I can remember. And all you've ever done is take from me, never given anything in return. Well, if that's what it takes to get you to love me back, then quiet honestly, I don't want it."

The rage evaporated from his body as she met his gaze, eyes glittering with angry tears. Kai suddenly felt incredible empty, his whole body numb with shock. He realized that Regan was waiting for him to say something, but his voice dried up in his throat, words shrivelled and died on his lips. Regan shook her head, and Kai felt a stab of misery. He could see it in her eyes. _You'll just never understand , will you?_

"Fuck you, Kai. Fuck you and fuck your. Stupid. Little. Games."

* * *

Rei looked up as the back door flew open and Regan fled through the house to her room. A moment later, Kai stalked through, his face a tangle of emotion. Rei came to the living room door and reached out to touch Kai's shoulder. The tall Russian swung round and slapped Rei's hand away. 

"Piss off!" He shouted. Rei looked at his friend in shock. Kai never swore at him. He saved his nastiness for sarcastic offences against Tyson.

"Kai, just calm down-"

But Kai had already stormed down the corridor and into his own room, slamming the door so hard that it shook the whole wall. Rei's face darkened and he shut the living room door behind him and set of in the opposite direction to the girl's room.

There was a lot of banging on the other side of the door. Rei paused to collect his thoughts, then knocked tentatively. The screen shot open and Regan burst out through the portal, her face streaked with tears.

"What?" She cried hoarsely. Rei stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her and she collapsed against his chest, burying her face in his shoulder, sobs rattling her body. Rei stroked her hair and rocked her gently, soothing her. Her cheeks were hot and damp against his shoulder, the warmth from her skin radiating through his thin shirt.

"You heard all that?" She asked quietly.

"You were shouting pretty loud," Rei replied.

"I was so angry," she whispered, her last words cut up by more sobs.

"Shhhh… It's okay," he murmured.

"No, it's not okay," she sobbed into his shoulder. "I thought it would be but it's not."

Rei guided her over to her bed and sat her down. It was only then that he realised that her large suitcase was out, half packed, clothes flung haphazard into its open belly. Regan followed his gaze and sniffed. She swiped at the tears and straightened slightly.

"I'm going to a hotel tonight, then I'm buying the first ticket back to Russia tomorrow morning," she managed to murmur, chin wobbling, her whole body shaking with the effort to keep her voice calm and steady. Rei gawped at her in disbelief.

"Why?"

"Because I can't stay here now, can I?" She choked, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Oh, hey… Come here," Rei said softly, pulling her into a hug as she started to cry again. He squeezed her tight and looked up as Mariah entered the room, the floorboard near the door squeaking and giving her away. She surveyed the scene before her, and a look of horror slipped across her face. She wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what had happened without asking.

Mariah crossed the room and sat down on the edge of her friend's bed. Rei let go of Regan and she sat up straight. Mariah looked at her worried.

"Where are you going?" She asked softly. Regan shrugged.

"Back to Russia, as soon as there's a seat available. Until then, a hotel."

Mariah's face fell.

"But… what about all of your plans… and our plans too?"

Regan choked back a sob and closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Mariah. I just… I need to go home. I can't stay here. Not now."

"Of course you can," Mariah insisted. "Okay. Yes, check into a hotel." Rei gave her a wide eyed look. "But don't go back to Russia," she added quickly. "You came to Japan for nine months, and you'll stay for nine months. Just because you aren't staying at the dojo, doesn't mean you have to leave, right?"

Regan's eyes were blank, her face completely devoid of any kind of expression. Mariah bit her lip.

"Please, Regan," Rei said softly. "We want you to stay."

Regan nodded obediently, her head moving only a fraction of an inch up, then down. But it was something. Mariah wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Promise?" She whispered in her ear.

"Promise." Regan croaked back. Rei nodded and left the room, muttering something about calling a taxi. Mariah gave Regan an extra tight squeeze, then let go and got up to finish the packing. She folded everything neatly and arranged it in the suitcase, than snapped it shut and packed all the other stuff into the large cardboard boxes they had arrived in, just four short weeks ago. Easel, paints, books, it all went in. She emptied the wardrobe of all of Regan's clothes and put them into a hanging bag. The room looked empty without all of Regan's belongings filling it.

"Come on," Rei said, coming into the room and holding Regan's jacket up and helping her into it. "There's a cab waiting outside."

With a suitcase in one hand and the hanging bag in the other, Mariah led Regan down to the cab and helped her put her things in the boot, whilst Rei brought the boxes out. Mariah hopped in the back of the taxi with Regan, Rei getting in the front and giving the driver instructions to go to the hotel. Regan sat in silence, gazing out of the window at the gathering darkness.

Rei turned in his seat to look at her. Her eyes were red, her cheeks puffy from crying. She had lost her sparkle. The shine that had surrounded her, the aura of fun and mischief gone. She looked just like a child. She was sixteen, same as him, but she suddenly seemed younger. Small and vulnerable, like she needed protection against the world and its evils. Rei shook his head and turned back to the front.

How could Kai have done this to her? How could he hurt her like this when it was so obvious that she liked him. Either Kai was very stupid, or very cruel. Somehow, Rei didn't think the former was very likely.

But then again, Rei had never known Kai to be intentionally cruel either. He had been friends with the Russian for nearly threer years now, and they were similar. They shared a silent understanding of each other, each knowing when the other needed to talk about something. They had more in common than even Tyson and Daichi, which was saying something. Sure, Kai was sarcastic, and he could be pretty cutting, and he had a melancholic vibe that surrounded him like a shield, but cruel? No. Kai was many things, but he was not cruel. Or at least, Rei hadn't thought so until now.

The cab pulled up outside the hotel and Regan delved into her wallet and handed over the fare. Mariah and Rei unloaded the bags and insisted on carrying them, refusing to let Regan help. Inside the hotel was quiet. People milled around the reception, talking in hushed tones. The woman behind the desk was polite and helpful. She gave Regan a room on the third floor and arranged for a porter to collect her bags. Regan handed over her credit card in silence. Mariah hovered behind her, worried.

"You're sure you don't want us to stay with you?" Mariah asked as they got into the lift. Regan shook her head.

"I… I need to be alone… I need to think about…" She trailed off and gazed mutely at the oak panels of the little carriage. Rei nodded and gave her hand a squeeze.

"We understand, but maybe you should have someone here-

"To make sure I don't commit suicide?" It was a flicker of her former sarcasm, nothing like her usual vivacious self, but it was closer to normal than she had been in the taxi.

"I didn't-"

"Don't worry, I'm not the type."

A silence descended, broken by the ping as the lift reached the third floor and the doors slid open. They walked down the lavish hallway in silence, the quiet tapping of their shoes the only noise. Regan's room was at the end of the corridor, away from most of the other rooms, the last on the whole floor. The porter had already been and put her belongings in the room, leaving the key in the door for them. Regan took it carefully out of the lock and slipped it into her pocket.

"Are you going to be okay?" Mariah asked cautiously. Regan smiled slightly and nodded.

"Thanks," she mumbled softly. Mariah gave her another hug and Rei wrapped his arms around her as well.

"It'll sort itself out, you'll see," he whispered into her hair. Regan nodded and gave him a watery smile.

"We'll call you in the morning, okay?" Mariah said. Regan nodded. "And don't forget to lock the door." She called as the retreated down the corridor. Regan watched from the doorway as Rei slipped his arm around Mariah's waist and leaned down, kissing her softly on the cheek. She rested her head on his shoulder, and as they rounded the corner, Rei looked over his shoulder at Regan and nodded. She nodded back, then stepped inside the room and closed the door, locking it and placing the key on the bedside table.

At least _someone _had got this love thing right.

* * *

I'm almost finished... I can't keep writing forever, I'm getting no homework done at all. Reviews please. Merci. 


	7. An eye for an eye

Chapter Seven.

An eye for an eye.

Kai heard them get back in. He heard them talking about her, as he sat on his bed, right outside his bedroom door.

"You don't think she'll do anything stupid, do you?" Mariah muttered.

"I don't know," Rei sighed. "But this is Regan. She's not the dramatic type."

More murmuring, none of which Kai could hear, then the sound of retreating footsteps. He covered his eyes with his hands, then brought them down to cover his mouth. What the hell had he done? How could he have done that to her. He had to see her. He had to go, right now, and apologies. Get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness, if needs be. He had to make it up to her somehow.

But he didn't know where she was. How the hell could he go and apologies if he couldn't even find her? He doubted that Rei would tell him, and Mariah most certainly wouldn't. And he couldn't risk running into Tala. His friend was highly protective of his little sister, and God only knew what he might do to Kai if he got his hands on him. He had to find out some other way. Had anybody used the phone since Rei had called them a cab?

Kai jumped up and strode to the door. He couldn't just sit here and do nothing. He'd ask Rei. If he explained his case, told Rei absolutely everything, all the reasons for him telling him where she was, then maybe, just maybe, the Asian boy would tell him where she had gone. Rei was understanding. He'd see how urgent it was, and how serious Kai was about finding Regan. He reached the door, flung it open and caught his breath in surprise.

"Going somewhere?" Tala spat, before landing a punch to the stomach that sent Kai flying. Winded, clutching his stomach, Kai staggered to his feet as Tala advanced on him.

"What the hell did you do?" Tala snarled, lashing out and kicking Kai back onto the floor.

"I-"

"What gives you the right to hurt her like that?" He spat, grabbing Kai by the scruff of his shirt. Kai struggled in his friend's grasp, but Tala, fuelled by rage, held on tight. He brought Kai right up close.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" He hissed. "What the hell are you doing to her?"

"I'm sorry." Kai choked.

"Liar!"

Tala let go of Kai's shirt and punched him again. Kai staggered backwards, tried to find his feet, but Tala punched him again. Kai fell and his head hit the corner of the bedside table. Blood erupted from his face as the skin ripped open in a long gash above his eyebrow. Kai collapsed against the table.

"Tala-"

"Shut up!" Tala shouted. He kicked Kai over and over, taking great satisfaction in hearing Kai groan, his bones cracking. Finally, panting, he stopped and stood back.

"Aren't you even going to defend yourself?" He sneered. Kai pulled himself up.

"That would mean fighting you. I'm not going to fight you, Tala," he whispered.

Tala snorted. There was a hatred in his eyes that Kai had never seen before. Not used on him anyway. Could Tala really hate him that much? Of course he could. Kai had just destroyed his sister's heart. He could do anything right about now.

"Coward."

"An eye for eye," Kai gasped, pain shooting through his body. "I hurt your sister, you hurt me."

Tala glared at him. He leaned down very close, his face right in Kai's.

"You go near her again, and I'll kill you," he threatened. Their eyes locked and Kai felt his friend's icy blue-grey stare breaking down all of his defences. Tala knew everything about him. He knew him well enough to know when he was being sincere. So why couldn't he see that now? Was he so blinded by his rage that he had forgotten to look at his friend and consider whether he was telling the truth or not? Tala gave Kai one final shove so that his head banged painfully against the table, then he straightened up and stormed out of the room.

"I guess you'll just have to kill me then wont you?" Kai croaked as he fell back against the little table.

* * *

Rei sat in the corner of the cubicle as the doctor examined Kai's injuries. There were various bruises and cuts, a gash above his eyebrow and one in his side. Tala had really layed into him. Hard. Rei shook his head and looked up at the white wall clock, it's black stick-like hands pointing accusing fingers. 1:45 am. What the hell am I doing in casualty at 1:45 in the morning with a guy who looks like he's just been eaten by a dog and regurgitated? 

The doctor gave Kai a prod in the ribs. The Russian's eyes flickered in pain, but he remained stoic, refusing to show his pain.

"Bruised ribs, I think. No breakages," the doctor said to the nurse. She nodded and made a note of it on her clipboard. The doctor turned back to Kai.

"How did you say you did this?" He asked.

"I got into a fight," Kai muttered, wincing as the doctor gave him another prod.

"A fight, eh?"

"I'm a BeyBlader," Kai snapped. The nurse chuckled.

"Nuff said," she muttered, her ample bosom heaving. Rei smiled as he watched Kai grind his teeth. BeyBladers had quite a reputation in hospitals around here. They were for ever getting into scraps and brawls after losing battles, and not just with the other team. There were a lot of Bladers got into fights with their own team members for being useless. But it was guys like Tala, Lei and Spencer who got into fights, not guys like Kai. Rei shook his head again and leaned back in his chair as the doctor began to clean Kai up and put stitches in his eyebrow. This guy must be seriously gullible to believe that Kai would get into a fight. Mind you, right now, he did look the part.

"There we go," the doctor said jovially. "Good as new."

Rei snorted with laughter, his shoulders shaking with suppressed amusement. Good as new. Kai was far from looking good as new. His face was puffy and bruised, the eye on the side where he had the stitches swollen almost completely shut. He got up gingerly, not making a sound, but the pain was obvious in his face.

"Do you want something for the pain?" The nurse asked kindly. Kai glared at her.

"I can handle it," he growled through clenched teeth. The nurse shrugged.

"Well all right… You come back in nine days to get those stitches out, understand?"

Kai grunted and hobbled off down the hallway. Rei watched him in silence. He was unbelievable. Rei? He'd have asked for every drug they had.

"Hurry it up, Furball," Kai called back. Rei rolled his eyes emphatically, but scooted ahead to catch up with his friend.

They steeped outside into the crisp autumn air, the sky dotted with stars. Rei took a deep breath and smiled. Fresh air. He hated hospitals. He hated the smell. Like bitter almonds and disinfectant. Death and anguish. Rei folded his arms and bunched up his shoulders as he walked side-by-side with Kai towards the Ferrari.

Kai moved around to the driver's door and held out his hand, clicking his fingers at Rei. Rei looked at his friend, astounded.

"You're joking right?"

Kai clicked his fingers again.

"You can't drive like that! You'll get us arrested." Rei exclaimed.

"Look," Kai said patiently. "I need the keys. So just give them to me."

"Uh-uh. No way."

"Give me the fucking _keys_, Rei!" Kai snarled.

"Why?"

Kai took a deep breath and gave Rei a hard look. Rei levelled his gaze at him, their eyes meeting. Kai looked at the floor and ran a hand through his hair.

"I need to go and see Regan."

Rei nearly choked.

"Absolutely no bloody way," he snorted.

"Rei. Please, this is important. I need to go and explain myself." Kai gave him an imploring look.

"Yeah, I know. But not just yet you don't. Regan needs time to cool her heels and get things straight in her head. And you need time to sort yourself out and heal up a bit."

Kai started to protest, but Rei cut across him.

"I'll tell you where she is, but you have to promise me that you wont go and see her. Just… Give it till Thursday to go and see her, okay?"

"Rei please. I can't wait until Thursday. I need to see her _now_," Kai pleaded. Rei looked at his friend surprised. Never, in all the time he had known the slate-haired Russian, had he heard him plead. Rei looked piteously at his friend. He was crumpled against the side of the car, his battered body concertinaed into a funny shape. Rei bit the inside of his cheek.

"Please, Rei. Please."

"Yes… No… I- look, it's Tuesday now. Go home, go to bed, and just… recuperate for the next couple of days… and… and I'll get Mariah to drop you off at the hotel when she goes shopping on Thursday."

Kai smiled and his whole body seemed to release. The tension left his shoulders and he stood up straight and embraced his friend.

"Thanks mate," he said quietly. Rei grinned.

"What can I say?" He jibed as Kai released him. "A hot-head with a serious attitude problem. She were made for you."

Kai grinned, then winced and let the smile drop. Rei took the car keys out of his pocket and unlocked the driver door. Kai walked around to the other side of the car and manoeuvred his way into the passenger seat, cursing like a fish-wife in all the languages he could. Rei waited until he was seated comfortably, then started the engine.

"So come on," Kai said.

"What?"

"You said you'd tell me where she was if I promised not to go and see her. I've made my end of the bargain, now you make yours. Where's she staying?"

Rei smirked.

"I said I'd tell you where she was. I didn't say when."

Kai blinked as the information seeped into his brain, then his eyes became wide and he gave Rei the dirtiest look he could muster.

"Bastard," he swore. Rei hooted with laughter, then put the car into gear and backed out of the parking space, Kai still sitting in his seat, swearing his heart out in Russian.

* * *

Reviews please. Merci. 


	8. Butterfly kisses

Chapter Eight.

Butterfly kisses.

Regan sighed and towelled off her hair, wandering over to the large window and drawing back the curtains. She felt hot and tingly all over, probably from having her bath too hot. Actually, she felt a little bit unsteady. Regan took a deep breath and leant against the glass, waiting for her head to stop spinning, before moving across the room and picking up her hairbrush from the top of one of the boxes.

Wandering back over to the window, she began running the brush through her hair, gazing out over the city, her face reflecting back at her. She felt heavy, her stomach seeming to weigh her down. The previous morning and that morning too, Mariah had phoned the hotel early in the morning and ordered room service for Regan. Yesterday she had had Greek yoghurt with honey and two slices of toast. This morning, it had been pancakes with sugar and lemon and half a grapefruit. She felt full and slightly ill afterwards, but they were the first proper meals she had eaten since God knows when, and it made her feel better.

Regan picked up her towel and began rubbing her hair dry again, surveying the room. The maid had been in whilst she was in the bath and cleaned up a bit, putting things away in a nice, orderly fashion. Regan sighed and wandered over to the wardrobe where most of her clothes were hung. She pulled out a pair of worn, baggy jeans, shredded and disintegrating at the hems, and a white tee-shirt. At this point, she wasn't too concerned whether she was presentable or not. She wasn't going anywhere. She'd just stay in her room, order a meal from the hotel and spend a nice, quiet evening alone.

The phone on the bedside table shrilled loudly. Regan sighed and picked it up, sitting down on the bed. So much for a quiet evening.

"Hello?"

"Miss Ivanhov?" The voice on the other end was unfamiliar, high and nasal.

"Yes…" Regan twisted the phone cord around her finger.

"This is reception. We have a Mr Ivanhov here to see you?"

Regan raised her eyebrows.

"Tala?"

"Should I send him up, Miss Ivanhov?" The receptionist asked. Regan chewed her lip but remained silent. There was a pause.

"Miss Ivanhov?" The woman repeated. Regan jerked.

"Oh, yes, send him up please," she answered, then put the phone down. Tala? What was _he_ doing here? He'd taken her to lunch yesterday, and hadn't said anything about coming to see her today and she was absolutely positive that he'd said something about going out with Bryan… Unless Bryan had stood him up, but that was hardly likely.

Regan sighed and got up, hanging the towel over the towel rack in the bathroom and picking up various items of clothing that were strewn on the floor. She wandered over to the windows and opened them slightly, just as there was a knock on the door.

Regan crossed the room and opened the door.

"Hey, Tala- You!" Regan gasped and took a step back.

"Regan-"

"I don't want to talk to you. Go away!" She snapped, slamming the door shut. But he jammed his foot in the gap and wedged the door open. Regan growled and put her weight against the wood, her feet slipping on the carpeted floor.

"Regan, please!" Kai gasped, pushing against her weight. Regan slid forwards, Kai having more power to open the door than her.

"Who told you I'm here?" She shouted.

"It's not important. Regan, let me in-"

"Go away!"

"I am not going until I've talked to you," he insisted, giving the door a shove. Regan swore as the door opened a bit more. Kai's arm slid through the gap, followed by half his torso. Then he poked his head around the side. Regan gasped and jumped back from the door. It flew open and banged against the other wall, and Kai staggered into the room, his whole body seizing up as he steadied himself against the wardrobe.

Regan covered her mouth with her hands, looking at him in shock as he straightened up, wincing.

"W-what happened?" She whispered, reaching out a hand and brushing her fingers gently across his face. Kai winced and she snatched her hand away.

"Your brother attacked me," he replied. He had stitches above his eyebrow and a bruise on his left cheek. He was standing at a slightly strange angle, and he moved gingerly. Carefully, he moved forwards and shut the door.

"He _attacked_ you?" She repeated.

"Yeah and I don't blame him either," Kai said resignedly. "Not after what I did to you."

Regan nodded mutely, unsure of what she should say. She gestured at the large comfortable sofa near the window, and Kai smiled slightly and hobbled over. She followed him over and sat at the opposite end of the sofa, drawing her knees up to her chin and looping her arms around her legs.

Kai watched her.

"Are you okay?" She asked, only realising after she'd said it what a stupid question it was. Kai nodded.

"It's not as bad as it looks," he said, rearranging himself more comfortably. "Regan, I'm really sorry. I've been such a stupid git, and I really didn't mean to hurt you like that. I know you must be angry at me."

Regan shook her head.

"I'm tired of being angry," she said wearily. "Let's just forget any of this ever happened, okay?"

No," Kai replied earnestly. "Not okay. Regan, there is no excuse for what I did to you. I really, _really_ want to make it up to you and…" Kai trailed off and ran a hand through his hair. He looked at Regan, obviously waiting for her to fill the gap. She didn't.

"Regan-"

"Kai… I have nothing to say to you," she said quietly, shaking her head slowly from side to side. "Just… I've embarrassed myself, my brother's beaten the crap out of you… I can't get this right…"

Kai was watching her closely. Regan felt a shiver of anxiety. He was so intense, his cerise eyes fixing against her blue ones. There was a long silence.

"So…" Kai gazed at her, his face a book of a thousand different emotions. Regan couldn't take it. She looked away, feeling small and defeated. Getting up off the sofa, she moved across the room to the door.

"As far as I'm concerned, this conversation is over," she told him quietly. Kai got up and followed her over.

"Regan… Please don't leave it like this…"

Regan looked away from him, tears welling up in her eyes. Kai frowned in concern and took her face in his hands, his expression softening as he brushed the tears off her cheeks with his thumb.

"You told me you loved me… and I treated you like dirt. I'm so, so sorry." He murmured. He took a step closer, tilting her head up so that she was looking right into his eyes. Kai smiled softly and tucked an errant strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered, closing his eyes and leaning down to kiss her. His lips brushed ever so gently against hers, and for a moment, Regan wasn't sure he'd even kissed her. He pulled away slightly, the tips of their noses touching, and smiled at her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer to him, this time pressing his lips firmly against hers, the heat from his body warming her. Regan placed her hands against his chest and he lifted her off the floor slightly. Shivers ran up and down Regan's spine, her whole body tingling with the closeness. After what seemed like far too short a time, he set her back on her feet and stared into her eyes.

"Do you still stand by what you said?" He asked. Regan rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes, the sound of his heart beating filling her ears. Kai wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"Yes," she replied quietly. Kai pressed his lips to the top of her head, then lifted her face towards him and kissed her on the lips. Regan was caught slightly off guard by this, her mouth slightly open. Kai slipped his tongue between her lips, exploring the inside of her mouth. Regan closed her eyes and moved as close as she could to him, until their bodies meshed together in a tangle of limbs with no beginning or end.

Kai placed his hands on her hips and slipped them up under her shirt. Regan lifted up her arms as he pulled it up over her head, their lips parting only for a second before flying back to find each other in a clash of teeth and passion. Kai shrugged his jacket off and let it fall to the floor beside him, Regan pulling of his black tee-shirt. She surveyed his bare torso, the skin bruised from his fight with Tala. There were other marks too.

Regan ran her fingers lightly over one that ran along the line of his hip-bone. She remembered him doing this. She must have been about seven. One day, she, Tala and Kai were climbing trees when the branch that Kai was sat on snapped and he fell ten feet and fractured his hip. She remembered seeing him, tears in his eyes, desperately fighting back at the hot pain as his mother ran down to the bottom of the garden to see if he was alright. Regan had been so scared… terrified that he might die, or never be normal again. So many memories... They'd known each other so long and yet they'd never been more than passing shadows, exchanging friendly pleasantries whilts he waited for her brother.

Kai broke her musings by picking her up and carrying her over to the double-bed at the opposite end of the room. He lay her down gently on her back, hovering over her, planting kisses all down her neck, her shoulders, stomach, until he reached the waistband of her jeans and moved back to her lips. Regan ran light fingers up and down his spine, feeling his skin quiver at her touch.

Cautiously, his eyes on hers the whole time, waiting for her to stop him, Kai began to unbutton her jeans. Regan gently pushed her hands against his chest, and he pulled away from her slightly, his eyes fixing on her face.

"Just… I don't want to do this unless…"

"Unless you know I really love you," Kai finished for her.

Regan blushed and nodded. Kai laughed softly and stroked her flaming cheeks. It was such a tender gesture, not what you'd expect from Kai at all. Regan smiled suddenly and leaned up towards him, planting soft little butterfly kisses along his jaw, down his neck and in the basin of his collarbone. She knew the answer the moment he asked her if she still loved him. Kai wasn't one to beat about the bush. How could she have ever doubted it?

"I love you," he murmured. "More than life itself."

"More than BeyBlading?" She asked wickedly.

Kai made a low whistling sound between his teeth and gave her a mock stern look.

"Well…"

Regan giggled and gave him a playful shove. Kai grinned and kissed her again.

"I love you," he said once more, louder this time. "And I'll tell you every day for the rest of my life if that's what it takes. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. You make me happier than… than…" Kai searched for an adequate comparison. " Vodka." He finished, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Regan laughed and wrapped her arms around him.

"That's just what I wanted to hear, _devushka_," she whispered into his hair. "Now if you're done proclaiming your undying love, I was having fun…?"

Kai laughed as she gave him a coy look.

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Soppy, I know, but I'm a sucker for a love story. Plus, three out of four of my friends told me that I had to give it a happy ending. So blame them for influencing me to be a hopeless romantic. 


End file.
